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Backing Arizona Law Doesn't Make You Nasty

Either we are going to enforce the law or we are not. So, the next time an American citizen is accused of a crime, I hope the judge will let them out on a $ 2,500 bond so they can finish school.

[National: Op-Ed]

I am really getting fed up with my liberal friends saying that because I am against amnesty for illegals, I am nasty.

Unfortunately, our society has devolved into a mindset where if you disagree with someone, you must have bad motives.

The pro-amnesty crowd is up in arms over the recently passed Arizona bill that takes a very tough line on illegals. Their contention is that it will lead to racial profiling. I challenge anyone with a brain to actually read the law and come to that conclusion.

But, they assert that if a person is "legitimately" stopped my law enforcement and is then found to be illegal, they would not have an issue with the person being brought before an immigration court.

Of course, these are just idle words. Liberals don't really believe that. They want blanket amnesty for every illegal in the country.

On March 29, 2010, Jessica Colotl, a 21 year-old illegal Mexican college student at Kennesaw State University, was pulled over by a campus policeman for "impeding the flow of traffic." She had no valid driver's license, but instead presented an expired Mexican passport. She was immediately arrested and sent to the county jail where she admitted that she was in the country illegally. Two weeks ago the sheriff filed a felony charge against her for providing a false address to the police.

On May 5, she was transferred to the Etowah Detention Center in Alabama to await deportation to Mexico. But, after loud protests from pro-amnesty groups and a letter of support from the president of the university, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) granted her a one year deferral on her deportation in order to finish college--she is one year away from graduation.

Now call me crazy, but what does her graduation have to do with her breaking the laws of the U.S? So, if she was illegal and busted for selling drugs, would she be allowed to finish school before her case was adjudicated?

Either we are going to enforce the law or we are not. So, the next time an American citizen is accused of a crime, I hope the judge will let them out on a $ 2,500 bond so they can finish school.

This is the very issue that the pro-amnesty crowd doesn't get-illegal immigrants seem to get rights and privileges that not even citizens are able to get. Oh, did I tell you that she was getting instate tuition? But the student from Alabama had to pay out of state tuition, which costs about twice as much as what the illegal immigrant had to pay.

Colotl was so cocky after being released on bond that she decided to hold her own press conference. You talk aboutarrogance. According to her, "I never thought that I'd be caught up in this messed-up system. I was treated like a criminal, like a threat to the nation." Well, duh, you are a criminal. You broke our laws and then have the nerve to criticize our system?

Her pro-amnesty supporters say that Colot should not be deported because she was brought her by her parents when she was 11--thus, it's pretty clear that her parents are in the country illegally also. Their argument is that she is excelling in school and was discovered to be here illegally only after a routine traffic violation.

Now, I am totally confused. The pro-amnesty crowd opposes the Arizona law because of the fear of being racially profiled. Now, in Georgia, the police did everything by the book and they still don't want to have an illegal immigrant deported. So, it is quite obvious that the Arizona law is not the real issue. These folks will settle for nothing short of total amnesty, with no conditions.

No one disputes that Colotl violated state law --traffic-- and lied to the police about her address --a felony. And their strongest argument is that she has one year left for completion of college? Mexico has plenty of universities.

Mary Bauer, according to the New York Times article, the legal director for the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is assisting in Ms. Colotl's defense, said Cobb County had a history of using federal laws designed to detect dangerous criminals for arresting illegal immigrants for minor offenses. "This is a civil rights disaster," said Ms. Bauer, who called the county's application of the law "mean-spirited and very probably illegal."

Oh, I see, so the application of the law should be based on the severity of the crime, not based on the written statute. Either Colotl broke the law or she didn't; either she is here legally or illegally. You can't have laws based on feelings-- "mean-spirited".

This is why Americans have strong feelings about not granting amnesty to illegals. This debate has nothing to do with whether I am nasty, but rather me being against amnesty.

Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a D.C.-public relations/government affairs firm. He is also a contributing editor for ExcellStyle Magazine (www.excellstyle.com).